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Watching the CMV numbers

Dr Rossetti stopped by today, and of all the things Beth is suffering from (“one day at a time”), the thing that represents the most danger is the CMV virus, which manifests no symptoms. Nevertheless, here’s why this is dangerous:

Patients who have received marrow transplants undergo ablative chemotherapy and/or radiation. A period of neutropenia and a loss of specific antigen reactivity follow. All transplant recipients have a period of decreased CMV-specific cell-mediated immunity. The next step is unknown; however, patients at greatest risk for CMV disease develop viremia (virus in the blood). The role viremia plays in the pathophysiology of CMV disease is unknown.

Life-threatening CMV pneumonia may develop in immunocompromised patients, with the incidence varying based on the type of transplant received. Patients who receive marrow, lung, heart, heart-lung, liver, pancreas-kidney, and kidney transplants have different levels of immunosuppression. Those most at risk include bone-marrow transplant recipients and recipients of lung transplants. In patients who have received marrow transplants, CMV disease is most likely 30-60 days after transplant. Fatal CMV pneumonia is much less common in patients who have received solid organ transplants than in those who have received marrow transplants. Patients may initially present with an asymptomatic infiltrate on chest radiograph.

Beth’s numbers on this viral infection are going up and down. She is receiving Ganciclovir (“Cytovene”), an antiviral, for this. We should be getting more “titer” numbers on this tomorrow.